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Monday, 9 April 2012

Tough start for Michael Epps

Michael Epps focuses on the job ahead

The first race weekend of the British
Formula Renault BARC Championship was one of mixed fortunes for
20-year old Michael Epps. Having a nasty crash in qualifying in wet
conditions, he was on the back foot all weekend starting last in all
three races. He came through however, to post some good results
against a very competitive field.

Michael showed strong pace throughout
Friday’s testing in dry conditions and was very confident following
the last session. The Race Drivers Inc. member commented: “We had a
few troubles in some of the high speed corners earlier on in the day
but as we made aero changes and used better tyres things improved.
The new tyre run at the end of the day was great, but hampered
slightly due to light drizzle wetting the track. We are right there
with pace though.”

Weather conditions could be said to be a little bit damp!

“British” weather greeted the BARC
paddock on Saturday morning, with the track damp and getting wetter
with on and off showers. Michael had not one lap of experience in wet
conditions in the car and so was finding pace every lap.
Unfortunately on his last lap, desperate to find time he locked up
into the first corner, running off the circuit. As soon as he hit the
grass he was destined for a big hit with the barriers, wrecking the
front of the car and his qualifying session.

It was a harsh
and unfortunate blow for Michael, who would now miss the second
qualifying session for positions in Race 2 and 3. “To be honest it
shook me up a little bit”, he commented. “I braked a bit later,
but got a little sideways and locked up the fronts I think. The car
practically accelerated once I hit the grass and next thing I knew I
had a tyre wall stuffed up in my face.”

Michael's team did a good job of repairing his car ready for Race 1

Team Jwa-Avila fixed Michael’s car up
quickly as the weather dried out for the afternoon race. Michael had
managed to qualify 15th for the first race, but more
troubles were yet to come. As the whole grid revved up ready as the
lights went out, Michael overheated his clutch and stalled the
engine. “I loaded the clutch a bit early, it suddenly engaged and I
jumped forward before the lights had gone out. I tried to start it
but I couldn’t get the clutch to disengage and couldn’t get it
into neutral either.” He eventually got the car started and pulled
away.

By this time Michael had lost all his
positions and a huge amount of time on the whole field, nevertheless
he charged on and managed to catch a few to get to finish 19th.
His lap times were actually fast enough to compete right at the
front. He uttered after: “I’m so annoyed with myself, this is the
worst day I’ve had racing in ages, maybe ever. I just need to come
back tomorrow and prove myself.”

Twitter and Facebook are proving to be useful tools for young racing drivers!

Sunday morning was the warmest it had
been all weekend, and dry too. Starting last, Michael got a good
start and overtook 5 cars through the opening two corners. Now
sitting in 20th he charged towards the next few cars and
with a couple of incidents ahead he climbed to 15th. The
next car ahead began to block Michael dangerously, then followed a
safety car to remove a couple of cars from the sidelines. Once the
safety car was in the car ahead continued to block. “I didn’t
want any more damage, he was weaving all over the track and I just
couldn’t get alongside. I probably could’ve made a few more
places if it wasn’t for that.” The driver was warned by the Clerk
after the race and Michael finished 15th.

Heavy rain pelted down in the afternoon
for the last race. Starting last again, Michael got a blinding start
and passed a few cars on the first lap. He then picked his way
through to 15th spot with a gap ahead to the next few
cars. Getting faster and faster through the race, learning the new
conditions, he eventually caught the next pack and passed a couple
more to finish 13th.

Epps now lies
15th in the Championship after a tough start, but he made
a total of 28 overtakes during the 3 races, showing great potential.
“I’m pleased with the results considering my starting positions.
I need a good qualifying next time, it’s so important. I’m really
gutted about Saturday, but a fair few others had their own problems
today so I’m sure it’ll all even out soon.”

The next 2 rounds are at Rockingham
Race Circuit on the 18/19th May. Keep up to date with
Michael’s progress on www.michaelepps.co.uk
and follow his twitter @MichaelEppsUk. Also follow his official
partner and local gym Anytime Fitness - @ATFitnessUK